Malbrouk
Preserved but no longer current.
Also seen as: Marlbrough
The old French song, "Malbrouk s'en va-t-en guerre" (Marlborough is off to the wars), is said to date from 1709, when the Duke of Marlborqugh was winning his battles in Flanders, but it did not become popular till it was applied to Charles Churchill, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, at the time of his failure against Cherbourg (1758), and was further popularized by its becoming a favourite of ^ Marie Antoinette about 1780, and by its being introduced by
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Malbrouk” mean?
The old French song, "Malbrouk s'en va-t-en guerre" (Marlborough is off to the wars), is said to date from 1709, when the Duke of Marlborqugh was winning his battles in Flanders, but it did not become popular till it was applied to Charles Churchill, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, at the time of his failure against Cherbourg (1758), and was further popularized by its becoming a favourite of ^ Marie Antoinette about 1780, and by its being introduced by
Is “Malbrouk” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.